Vietnam’s e-commerce forecast to boom

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s
e-commerce market is predicted to boom in the near future, given that 53
percent of the population uses the internet and nearly 54 million people use
smartphones.

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and
Trade (MoIT)’s E-Commerce and Information Technology Agency showed 70 percent
of purchases via social media were made on Facebook this year, up slightly from
2017.

Facebook was more regularly visited by
shoppers, with 77 percent of online shoppers using it for purchases, compared
to 5 percent on Zalo.

Among more than 1,000 respondents to a
survey by CBRE Vietnam, a quarter
currently or previously sold products online. Some 66 percent used Facebook for
sales, 49 percent used Shopee and 26 percent used Lazada.

According to experts, trade volume via
e-commerce reached 4.07 billion USD in 2015, hit 5.1 billion USD in 2016 and
6.2 billion USD in 2017. The figure is forecast to surge to 10 billion USD by
2020, giving Vietnam a great chance to develop the digital economy.

A recent study by the Institute for Global
Leadership under the US’s Tufts University showed Vietnam ranks 48th out of 60 countries globally in terms of rapidly switching to digital economy,
and 22nd in terms of digitalisation.

The United Nations E-Government Survey 2018 also
pointed out that since 2014, Vietnam has jumped 11 places to the 88th out of 193 countries and territories in the e-government development index. It
also ranks seventh in ASEAN, behind Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Thailand and Brunei.

Dang Hoang Hai, head of the MoIT’s
Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy, admitted that infrastructure for the
digital economy, including electronic payment, distribution, human resources,
information technology and security and safety remain limited.

Most Vietnamese firms, including e-commerce
ones, don’t pay attention to the rapid changes of modern technology, he said.

Experts have called for more investment in technology
and human resources amid the fourth industrial revolution. Apart from virtual
technology, artificial technology and blockchain are breakthrough technology
trends which are applicable in many fields.

Analysts have forecast that around 30
percent of Vietnam’s population will shop online by 2020, spending an average
350 USD per person yearly.

In particular, social e-commerce is set to
thrive in 2019, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao
Quoc Hung said apart from refining the national e-commerce payment system, it
is necessary to issue favourable mechanisms and optimise business models to
effectively use smart supply chain as well as manage intellectual property.-VNA